The Healing Power of Traveling

Aside from vacation, when else is it acceptable to sleep in, eat a breakfast big enough for two, or get lost in a book or in a museum for hours on end?

I’ve had a lot of loss in my lifetime. There have been days that I didn’t want to get out of bed. A broken heart can only be shattered so many times.

Sometimes I feel like Humpty Dumpty & the only thing that puts me back together again, aside from my amazing family & friends, is travel.

The research, planning, shopping, packing & more over packing is the most cathartic way I know how to heal.

Maybe it’s because it involves all of my favorites-exploring, meeting new people, seeing new things, trying new foods & cocktails.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that traveling always reminds me of my mama & our trips to Spain. As a kid, we’d spend every other summer there. For most of the visit, we stayed with her mom, my Abuela. But every time we’d go to Spain, for one week, we would go explore a different city in Spain.

That was in the 70’s and 80’s, long before the internet and cell phones to help you plan your vacation. I’ll never forget the trip when I was sixteen years old and we went to Santander, a beautiful beach in the north of Spain.

When we got to the bus station, we hopped in a cab and my mom asked the driver to take us to a hotel on the beach. The driver said, “Do you have a reservation somewhere?” My mom said “No, just take us to a nice hotel on the beach.”

So he brought us to a beautiful high rise hotel and my mom just walked up to the front desk and asked if they had a room for a week. They did and it was spectacular-it just a few steps away from the ocean, had fantastic food and a rooftop pool.

We spent a week frolicking in the sand, flirting with hot foreigners, drinking sangria, and my favorite part was going topless. At first I was nervous, but seeing every type of body and age without a bikini top gave me the courage to take mine off too.

Spain felt and tasted like freedom and ever since that summer, whenever I travel, that feeling comes rushing back.

When I got divorced four years ago, the ground beneath me was shaky. Everything I did felt like a misstep. Ironically, hiking in Sedona was what helped me feel steady again. As I climbed the beautiful red rocks with my friend, I was reminded, ‘I can do hard things.’ 

At one point, we were a little lost, but luckily, my friend has a great sense of direction. And when we came off the path where we started, it occurred to me that sometimes getting lost is the only real way to find yourself.

I knew at that moment how cathartic traveling would be in my healing.

As I write this, I’m about to embark on a Royal Caribbean cruise with my daughter. I can’t wait to sit on my balcony and sip a cocktail as I look over the majestic ocean.

I know it will remind me how every sunset is a glorious way to close out the day. No matter how good or bad, it can be washed away.

Every sunrise is God’s way of saying that each day is a new beginning and the power of the sun and the possibilities of joy and hope are as bright as the light illuminating over the massive body of water.

It’s been 34 years since that visit to Santander. Isn’t it fascinating how seemingly small things can have such a big impact on your life?

I was so impressed my mom took a leap of faith that we’d find a hotel and that it would be so amazing. She was right. And now as a middle aged woman starting over, I want to channel my mom’s optimism. That I will find exactly what I need, and that it too, will be amazing.

I hope you find healing on your next adventure, it truly is like medicine. I know that as long as I have travel, I can always make myself whole again.

Safe traveling my friends!